"Good morning, Kaida. Come, take a seat," Shikaku said, a little too enthusiastic in his voice, as he pushed away the files in front of him.
Kaida took the seat in front of him, ready to hear the reason for his summon.
"I heard that you have been constantly visiting the mission hall," Shikaku asked, his tone was neutral with a little casual touch, but Kaida felt like he was under interrogation.
Since he knew the level of intelligence the man in front of him possessed, it was not difficult to guess how much information he could find from just a simple conversation.
But Kaida already had an answer prepared for this, so he also gave the reply in the same semi-casual tone.
"I have been looking for some... challenging missions, as you know I have just gone through some crazy power-ups," chuckle, "and since I have already adapted enough with it, I mean as much as normal practice can do, I was thinking about taking some missions to check my progress."
"Good. Then I have a perfect mission for you," Shikaku said, a smile forming on his face. The whole point of asking a ten-year-old boy to go on a deadly mission was awkward in some way or another, but if that boy is looking to go on such a mission by himself, then he was just helping his junior.
"Perfect mission?" Kaida asked.
"Yes, recently we got an A-rank mission which requires the presence of 20 Jonin-level ninja for the mission for 2 weeks, and we don't have that many Jonin free at the moment. So I have decided you will take the mission as an S-rank from Konoha," Shikaku said.
Kaida was no stranger to his own progress. After waking up on Mount Myoboku, he had done some research on his current strength level.
And it would not be an overstatement to say that he was nowhere near the level he was before awakening the Mangekyo Sharingan. His chakra levels, which were already several times the amount of any elite Jonin, were now four times larger.
Not to mention his body was also much sturdier and powerful than before. If this was a game, then all his strength, vitality, agility, and what-not would have looked doubled, and his chakra quadrupled.
Just these things would move him above the threshold of the elite Jonin rank, and with his Mangekyo Sharingan and its ability, well, he could truly be considered S-rank now. It was almost absurd to think he had reached such strength in just 5 years. It was truly absurd.
So when Shikaku said that he would be doing a mission as an S-rank from Konoha, he was not shocked. Seeing that Shikaku continued his explanation.
"The mission is a little dangerous, so you will not go alone. A team of 8 Jonin will also be with you. Since you are still not experienced enough, someone else will be the leader of the mission, and you will be second in command," Shikaku said.
"I understand, Shikaku-san," Kaida said, even though he wanted to take a mission in the Land of Water, but that could wait a few more days like it had been waiting for so long.
It is true that he wanted to bring Kimimaro to Konoha for many reasons, but that was assuming the case that Orochimaru had not made his move on him by now. That's why he was just thinking about giving the plan a shot but not placing high expectations on the goal.
The worst problem he was facing was the glaring absence of detail in his knowledge of the future. Like he knew Orochimaru found Kimimaro on the outskirts of the Land of Water, but what was the year when he found him? What was Kimimaro's age? What was the time when he found him? He had no such details. For all he knew, Kimimaro may already be with Orochimaru by now.
If he was sure about his chances of success, he may have tried to evade this mission using some excuse, but there was no need for it. That's why he just decided to complete the mission and then think about Kimimaro and the Land of Water.
"Don't be so fast to judge. The mission is from the Land of Water, Kaida, the same country which is currently in the middle of a civil war. And where there is war, there is a chance of earning shit-tons of money. And these money-grabbing merchants will even risk their lives for getting such an opportunity. Your mission will be to protect one of such merchants. Are you up for the mission?" Shikaku asked, since he had now given Kaida full details, it was now Kaida's turn to answer.
But Kaida looked a little troubled, even though he tried to hide it. Shikaku was not inexperienced enough to not notice these changes in his expression. 'Well, it is reasonable for a young boy to be troubled to go to a warring country where there are hundreds of fights happening every day,' Shikaku thought, but he didn't know how far from the truth he was.
'Land of Water? For 2 weeks? With a merchant? Why the hell does it sound like a perfect mission I have been searching for so long? Well, almost perfect. I will still have to be in a team, but still, this is as good as it's going to be. But the timing is concerning. T
here is no way he knew I wanted to go to the Land of Water, right?... No, if someone tried to read my mind, I would have known. Sigh This is just a coincidence,' Kaida thought, with solid reasoning for his mental fortitude. He chalked up the event as a coincidence, a gift from luck.
"I am perfectly fine with the details, Shikaku-san," Kaida said.
"Good. Then make the preparations. You will leave for the mission tomorrow," Shikaku said, a smile plastered on his face.
Kaida nodded his head and was about to take his leave.
"Wait, Kaida. Are you free for today?" Shikaku asked, just as Kaida was about to open the door to leave.
"I am mostly free. I just have a few appointments at the hospital," Kaida said.
"Then I have a work for you..."
"How the hell are you guys so injured? Were you fighting a war?" Kaida said as he healed another Jonin with mangled flesh and crushed bones common in the injuries. It took far longer for him to heal them than normal.
"Confidential details, kid. Wow, I think I can go for a jog now," the Jonin said, moving his now freshly healed leg.
"Don't even think about it, Uncle. You will render all my work useless. Take a week's rest, bed rest. Don't put much pressure on your leg and let the freshly formed muscles adapt to your body," Kaida said.
"Hahaha, a medical ninja is a medical ninja, no matter how young they are. I will follow your instructions to the T," the Jonin said, a small chuckle released from his mouth, which was shared by the other Jonin present there, even those who still had various injuries to heal.
And to Kaida's surprise, many more Jonin were transferred to the basement in the evening.
'Man, I may not be able to sleep today at all,' Kaida said, seeing the new injuries of the Jonin. Unlike the previous ones, they had burn marks all over the body with half-healed slash marks covering various parts.
'Almost 25. How the hell did so many Jonin get injured to this extent?' Kaida was thinking when suddenly his eyes went wide, like a light bulb going on in his mind.
He created a shadow clone to keep the treatment going in the basement while Kaida went out of the basement, straight toward Shikaku's office. Luckily, he was just on time, as Shikaku was just about to retire for the day.
Knock, Knock
"Who is it?" a grumbling voice came from inside, like he didn't want to meet a fly at the moment and just go back to his home.
"Shikaku-san, it's me, Kaida," Kaida said from outside.
Whether it was for the guilt of giving the boy so much work or some other reason, Shikaku sighed and allowed Kaida to enter.
"What happened, Kaida? Is there some complication in the healing process?" Shikaku asked.
"No, I just wanted to ask, Is my brother okay?" Kaida asked, going straight to the topic. For a second, Shikaku's eyes went wide, then he chuckled.
"I may have underestimated the analyzing capacity of an Uchiha. Yes, your brother is fine. Don't worry," Shikaku said.
Kaida released a breath even he didn't know he was holding and then thanked Shikaku for the details before going back to the basement to continue the healing.
The previous medical ninja who was doing the deed before him was still present there but had been shifted from the main healer to the helper. Initially, he was a little displeased about it, but after seeing Kaida healing the injuries which would have taken him hours in minutes and that too in a more refined way, he begrudgingly accepted his position and started helping Kaida honestly.